Siaran Pers

We, the undersigned organisations, collectives, and individuals across the world, express our deep concern regarding the prosecution of Laras Faizati, a young Indonesian woman and dedicated worker supporting her family, who is currently standing trial at the South Jakarta District Court for her social-media expression following the death of ride-hailing driver Affan Kurniawan during the Indonesian Nationwide Protest in August 2025. 

Background

The case against Laras stems from posts she uploaded in her Instagram Account on 28 - 29 August 2025, shortly after Affan Kurniawan was fatally struck by a police tactical vehicle during the protests of late August. Angered by this incident, Laras posted four pieces of content on her Instagram account, including videos circulating widely in the public domain as well as a photograph of herself pointing toward the National Police Headquarters. The content expressed her grief, frustration, and criticism toward the police’s handling of the incident that resulted in Affan’s death. These posts were later reported to authorities on allegations of “incitement” and “hate speech,” prompting her arrest by the Criminal Investigation Department on 1 September 2025, only three days after her posts and despite her full cooperation.

Her trial began on 5 November 2025 with the reading of charges under Article 161 paragraph 1 of the Indonesian Criminal Code. Throughout multiple hearings, including witness examinations in late November, prosecutors asserted that Laras’s posts constituted intentional acts encouraging hostility toward the police. 

However, on 24 December 2025, the prosecution demanded a one-year prison sentence, despite the fact that Laras has no prior criminal record, has shown full cooperation, and serves as the principal provider for her family. The prosecution itself acknowledged that she had already faced employment consequences. Yet her expression of grief and anger, in which sentiments shared widely across the public sphere during that period, has been framed as a criminal act.

Not only that Laras is being prosecuted unfairly, in one of her interviews, she also mentioned how the investigators treated her inhumanely. She mentioned how the police were mocking her for being here (in prison), and that was the cause of why her mother is sick. The police also gave her expired medicine and she cannot access the health facility easily. 

The proceedings against Laras have raised significant concerns among human-rights bodies, legal experts, and civil-society groups, whereas arguments underlined that Laras is facing criminalisation for speech that, in the context of public outrage and widespread mourning, amounted to emotional expression and political commentary rather than incitement to violence. The Indonesian Police Reform Acceleration Commission also publicly highlighted Laras’s case, urging the national police leadership to re-evaluate the legal process applied to over a thousand individuals arrested during the August events, especially women, minors, and persons with disabilities.

During Laras' verdict on 15 January 2026, the judge called for a six-month prison sentence; however, Laras instead received a one-year probation, meaning she will not serve time in prison but will remain under supervision for a year. In delivering the decision, the presiding judge stated that the words used by Laras in her posts were “filthy and vile,” and further argued that although expressions of anger in public spaces such as social media are natural, the wording she chose rendered her statements “manipulative.” Based on this reasoning, the court still deemed her posts as “inciting others to commit crimes”.

This decision dealt a serious blow to freedom of expression and peaceful protest in Indonesia, as the judges missed an opportunity to correct the flawed legal process used by police and prosecutors who rely on problematic articles to criminalize citizens and activists voicing criticism. This also marks the broader flaws within Indonesia’s justice system, where public resentment toward the government did not begin with a single Instagram story, but with the authorities’ incompetence in handling the mass protests in August last year. To date, more than 600 political prisoners remain on trial following the August 2025 protests.

Targeting a Young Woman for Dissent: The Gendered Cost of Repression

Laras is a young woman who, in essence, has become a victim of an increasingly repressive government. As in any democracy, her expressions and aspirations reflected a deep concern for the state of her country, yet instead of evaluating the institutional failures she criticised, the authorities chose to punish a citizen whose words were rooted in care for the nation’s future. Her decision to speak out following Affan’s death was not an isolated act of defiance but part of her broader commitment to confronting structural inequality, the commitments that have made her an accessible and relatable figure for many young women in Indonesia.

The criminalisation of Laras not only reveals the justice system’s failure to consider power imbalances, victims’ vulnerabilities, and fundamental human-rights protections, particularly women’s rights, but also sends a chilling message to women and other marginalised groups seeking to speak in public and digital spaces. If left unchallenged, this will further shrink the space for freedom of expression and hinder efforts to expose violence and injustice.

Laras’s case is not an isolated one

Her trial reflects a broader pattern of the criminalisation of youth voices in Indonesia following the August 2025 demonstrations. Several other young people, among them Delpedro Marhaen, Khariq Anhar, Muzaffar Salim, Syahdan Husein,and Similarly Rifa Rahnabila –the only woman among the 46 political detainees in Bandung after the August 2025 protest– who have been subjected to similarly questionable arrests, extended detentions, and legal processes. Their cases collectively signal an alarming trend in which young citizens expressing criticism of state actions, including those related to police violence, face disproportionate legal risks. These patterns raise serious questions about the protection of civil liberties at a time when Indonesia holds the Presidency of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The silencing of critical voices, particularly young, digitally active voices, poses long-term consequences for Indonesia’s democratic health. Criminalising peaceful expression, online commentary, and emotional responses to state violence undermines public trust, weakens accountability mechanisms, and chills civic participation. This situation is especially troubling in a country that currently occupies a leadership role within the global human-rights architecture. As Indonesia presides over the UN Human Rights Council, it carries the responsibility to model a justice system grounded in transparency, proportionality, and fairness, even, and especially, when citizens criticise state institutions.

Sincerely,

Organizations

1. Asia Democracy Network (ADN)

2. The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Indonesia 

3. Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), Indonesia

4. Indonesian Caucus for Academic Freedom (KIKA), Indonesia

5. Migrant CARE, Indonesia

6. Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), Indonesia

7. Bandung Legal Aid (LBH Bandung), Indonesia

8. Serikat Pekerja Kampus (SPK)/Union Campus Worker, Indonesia

9. Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI)

10. The Peoples Participation, Initiative and Partnerships Strengthening Foundation (YAPPIKA), Indonesia

11. Constitutional and Administrative Law Society (CALS), Indonesia

12. Solidaritas Pekerja CNN Indonesia (SPCI), Indonesia

13. The Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM), Indonesia

14. Koperasi Edukarya Negeri Lestari (KEN8), Indonesia

15. Mandiri, Malaysia

16. Transnational Palm Oil Labour Solidarity (TPOLS), Indonesia

17. International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID), Indonesia

18. Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW)

19. Kemban Kolektif, Malaysia 

20. Public Virtue Research Institute, Indonesia

21. Students For Liberty Indonesia

22. Students For Liberty Chapter Yogyakarta

23. Komite IWD Tulungagung, Indonesia

24. Bangsa Mahardika, Indonesia

25. IMPARSIAL, the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor

26. Viet Tan, Vietnam

27. Center of AI and Technology for Democracy (PIKAT), Indonesia

28. Manushya Foundation, Laos/Thailand

29. Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet), Indonesia 

30. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)

31. Marsinah.ID

32. Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI) - Friends of the Earth Indonesia

33. Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) - Friends of the Earth Malaysia

34. Forum for Protection of Public Interest (Pro Public) Nepal - Friends of the Earth Nepal

35. Logos ID, Indonesia

36. Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR)

37. Human Rights Myanmar

38. Arus Pelangi, Indonesia

39. Digital Rights Nepal (DRN)

40. Kait Nusantara

41. Asia Democracy Network

42. Pekanbaru Legal Aid (LBH Pekanbaru)

43. Prakash Mani Sharma Academy for Public Interest Law Nepal

44. South East Asia Public Interest Lawyer (SEAPIL), South East Asia

45. Greenpeace Indonesia

46. Human Rights Online Philippines (HRonlinePH)

47. Social Justice Indonesia, Indonesia

48. LBH APIK Jakarta - Legal Aid For Women Jakarta (Indonesia)

49. Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR), Indonesia 

50. Taiwan Association for Human Rights(TAHR), Taiwan 

51. Borneo Komrad, Malaysia

52. HAYAT, Malaysia

53. Diversity Inclusivity Equity Malaysia (DIEM), Malaysia 

54. Bandilang Itim, Philippines 

55. Ruang Lawan, Malaysia

56. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, South Africa

57. Puanifesto, Indonesia

58. Cambodian League for the Promotion & Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), Cambodia

59. ARTICLE 19, United Kingdom

60. EngageMedia

61. Asian Resource Foundation (ARF), Thailand

62. Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN), Thailand

63. Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), Bangladesh

64. Think Inc Indonesia Legal Office

65. Asia Citizen Future Association (ACFA), Taiwan

66. Kuala Lumpur and Selan

67. Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) Civil Rights Committee, Malaysia

68. Madaripur  Legal  Aid Association (MLAA), Bangladesh.

69. KLSCAH Youth, Malaysia

70. MilkTeaAlliance Calendar Team, Regional

71. Jejak Kota,Indonesia

72. Women’s Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC)

73. Milk Tea Alliance Thailand

74. Civil Society and Human Rights Network - CSHRN

75. 11.11.11 Belgian Coalition for International Solidarity 

76. Community Self Reliance Centre (CSRC) Nepal

77. New Bloom, Taiwan

78. 酷兒翻越 Queer Margins, Taiwan

79. The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) - Cambodia

80. Liga Rakyat Demokratik, Malaysia

81. Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, Kazakhstan

82. Community Legal Education Center (CLEC), Cambodia

83. Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN)

84. Association for Democracy in the Maldives (ADM)

85. Progressive Voice, Myanmar

86. Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty(TAEDP), Taiwan

87. Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT)

   87. Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA)

Individuals

88. Dhia Al Uyun, Indonesia

89. Hariyadi, Indonesia

90. Shoeb Abdullah, Bangladesh

91. Sita Supomo, Indonesia

92. Wahyu Susilo, Indonesia

93. Prakash Dahal, Nepal 

94. Theiva Lingam, Malaysia

95. Maria M. Dolorosa Farah Diena, Indonesia

96. Jason S Ganesan, Malaysia

97. Cecilia Anthonysamy, Malaysia

98. Fajar Santoadi, Indonesia

99. Raj Villarin, Philippines

100. Liew Xiang Xiang, Malaysia

101. Nita Roshita, Indonesia

102. Ina Irawati, Indonesia 

103. Wanggi Hoed, Indonesia

104. Lisa Garcia, Philippines

105. Satria Unggul Wicaksana, Indonesia

106. Jerbert M. Briola, Philippines 

107. Ikrar, Indonesia

108. Adrienne Cacatian, Philippines

109. Simoun Magsalin, Philippines 

110. Meg Soriano, Philippines 

111. Siti Zulaika, Indonesia

112. Parvez Alam, Bangladesh

113. Mohammad Abdus Sabu, Thailand

114. Khin, Myanmar

115. Aldi Fauzan Mawardi, indonesia

116. Linda Dewi Rahayu, Indonesia

117. Stanislaus Yangni, Indonesia

118. Sunita Mainali, Nepal

119. Sarah Lery Mboeik Piar NTT, Indonesia

120. Irmia Fitriyah

121. Ja Fuentes, Philippines

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